Cunningham joked Wednesday that the days in Detroit are gone when the Lions cut a player and he never plays in the league again. That will certainly be the case this year with some tough decisions looming following training camp.

Taking an early look at the talent the Lions have assembled on both sides of the ball heading into the 2013 season, it appears Linehan and Cunningham finally have most of the pieces they may have envisioned back in 2009.

"I like the mix of talent," Linehan said of his offense. "Everybody brings something different.

"We'll probably be a little more versatile (with our personnel). Your depth gets back to where you want it. We definitely would like to use groupings that we can utilize to the best of their abilities.

"So, now having someone that has a dual role as a running back and receiving threat in Reggie (Bush), you can use that. You've got a slot receiver (Ryan Broyles) that was coming on real good for us. You're going to use the slot receiver not just for the pass game, but also, he can get in those formations to run the football.

"So, those are the things we try to do and when you have your depth back where you want it, it certainly helps."

"I'm reflecting on the corners and the safeties. (Defensive backs coach) Marcus Robertson has done a great job to this point. I don't know what he says to them, but I'm going to find out because some of those young guys are really responding to him.

"I'm really impressed by the secondary's ability physically. Now let's see if they can play like that in a real game."

On paper, the Lions have a good mix of the right pieces on both sides of the ball. Now we'll see how it translates to the field.